doze

views updated May 29 2018

doze / dōz/ • v. [intr.] sleep lightly: he found his mother dozing by the fire. ∎  (doze off) fall lightly asleep: I dozed off for a few seconds.• n. [in sing.] a short light sleep.ORIGIN: mid 17th cent. (in the sense ‘stupefy, bewilder, or make drowsy’): perhaps related to Danish døse ‘make drowsy.’

doze

views updated May 21 2018

doze †stupefy, muddle, perplex; sleep drowsily. XVII. perh. of Scand. orig. cf. Da. døse drowse, etc.
Hence doze sb. XVIII.

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